The Ironic Effects of Weight Stigma

It is hard to turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without hearing reports of the “obesity epidemic.” America is fighting a “war on obesity”—or is it a war against obese people? Media campaigns targeting obesity depict fat people in dehumanizing and stigmatizing images. Fat people eating fattening foods, fat people sitting, fat people squeezed into clothes that look at least 2 sizes to small, fat people with no heads, the examples are endless. Fat people are portrayed in the media as lazy, weak-willed, self-indulgent, and a drain on the nation’s resources. During a recent health segment on The Today Show, anchor Jenna Wolfe yelled at the viewer “you put effort into your job, you put effort into raising your kids, put a little effort into your health and fitness!”

So, what is the consequence of weight stigmatizing messages? Does Jenna’s command inspire us to lose weight?

In a recent research study titled “The Ironic Effects of Weight Stigma” (2014), Major et al. examined these questions through the lens of a phenomenon called ‘weight based social identity threat’ (WBSIT for our purposes). WBSIT is a person’s awareness or belief that others see him or her as a member of a social category “overweight” combined with knowledge of the negative stereotypes and devaluation associated with the category. The authors believe that WBSIT results from experiencing, anticipating, or fearing being the target of weight-based discrimination.

In this study, the researchers examined 93 female college students. For the experiment, the researchers asked the participants to read and describe either a weight-stigmatizing news article titled “lose weight or lose your job” (experimental condition) or a non-weight stigmatizing news article titled “quit smoking or lose your job” (control condition). After being asked to describe the article, participants were asked to wait in a break room with snacks of candy and chips and told that they could help themselves to the snacks.

Results of this research study indicate that, in the weight stigma condition, women who perceived themselves as above average weight consumed significantly more calories than in the control condition.

Women who perceived themselves as overweight also felt less in control of their diet when they were exposed to the weight-stigmatizing article than the control article. Interestingly, women who did not perceive themselves as overweight had significantly higher self-efficacy for controlling their diet in the weight-stigma condition than in the control condition. The authors posit an admittedly provocative suggestion related to this finding: “Among those who are not overweight and who have a hard time understanding what it is like to be overweight, stigma feels like it would help strengthen other people’s resolve to eat less because it strengthens their own.”

Not surprisingly, the more women perceived themselves to be overweight, the more concerned they were about being the target of weight stigma. However, all women who read the weight-stigmatizing article were more concerned about being the target of weight stigma, regardless of if they perceived themselves as overweight or not. The effects observed were not related to hunger, dietary restraint, or self-esteem.

It is important to note that the effects of the current study were associated with self-perceived overweight but was not associated with objective weight, as measured by body mass index (BMI). This indicates that it is perceived weight, not actual weight, that increases a person’s vulnerability to experiencing WBSIT and the negative health consequences associated with weight discrimination. Thus, this can affect people of varying shapes and sizes, not just people who are overweight or obese.

This study concludes that for individuals who perceive themselves as overweight, media messages that stigmatize obesity have the effects of increasing calorie consumption and feeling more out of control with eating. Public health campaigns aimed at reducing obesity that stigmatize overweight and obese individuals may have negative psychological and behavioral consequences for people of all shapes and sizes who perceive themselves as overweight.

This makes a lot of sense to me. Any time I perceive myself as at-risk for something, and then people are hard on me about it, it makes me shut down and get worse at the thing. Like, for example, I'm sensitive about whether I'm smart enough for my job (I'm an engineer) because I didn't go to a prestigious school like my coworkers. When someone's hard on me about not figuring something out, it makes it even more difficult for me to get my work done. This article seems to be describing the same mechanism operating in people who think they're fat. If someone is hard on me about my weight, suddenly managing it becomes much more of an ordeal. I think this happens in all sorts of situations, all the time.

People who don't want to change their behavior will use any justification to see themselves as helpless victims. Psychologists abet them in that by tying self-indulgent behavior to some childhood angst.

Trying to cajole someone into losing weight will not work either. It's not just that harsh methods don't work. NO methods work until a person wants to lose weight more than they want to pretend that they'll do it tomorrow. Yes, there's a lot of procrastination amongst perpetual dieters.

Over-weight people hate being fat, no matter what they say about loving them 'as they are' because they know deep inside that 'fat' isn't who they are. It's a mistake they made that is time-consuming to fix and that takes more self-control than they've become used to demanding of themselves.

Yes, they're lazy and self-deluding. That's what I was when I was overweight and no amount of psycho-babble will convince me otherwise. I went through the gaining weight and I went through the losing weight and it was ME doing it every step of the way.

Gaining weight was pure self-indulgement. Losing it was pure self-control and self-denial of the things (like sugar and fat) that I had conditioned myself to crave. It's not any more psychological than that.

Maintaining a healthy weight is like brushing your teeth and doing the dishes. You have to do it every day. Each individual has to actually get up and walk, run, or something to stay fit and maintain muscle tone, and they have to choose to abstain from over-eating. It takes effort but it's worth it.

... I really wouldn't encourage anyone to follow your example. Your bitterness and judgementality glare through in every word you type. You say "it's worth it", but nowhere in your posts does it sound like it's made you happier to be thinner. Maybe you hated yourself when you were fat, but you certainly don't sound like you love yourself now!

I assume you're speaking to me. If I sound angry, I'd say you're projecting. You're weak and can't handle straight talk. You want your emotions to be coddled. As long as you want to be babied, you're weak.

I'm very happy, thankyou for ass-uming otherwise.

If you're fat, stop whining and shooting the messenger. Go for a walk and whatever you KNOW you shouldn't eat today; don't eat it.

That's all it takes -- self control; no excuses. That makes me happy in my own life. I see no reason it won't work for you. But as I said; first, stop whining. It's weak. Weakness is what keeps you from changing your habits.

I've had a life so hard that people who learn about just a few things I went through have trouble even believing me. I'm not weak; I'm strong. Strong enough, for example, to admit that I don't know anything about other people's life circumstances, and thus that I can't tell them what to do to get better.

"You want your emotions to be coddled. As long as you want to be babied, you're weak. "

I was never babied, even as a baby. I was subjected to child abuse of all sorts: sexual, physical, and psychological. I had to be my own mother's mother. As a result, I don't allow myself to be coddled, even when I need it.

"Go for a walk"

That would be against my doctor's orders. The only type of physical activity I'm allowed is swimming on my back.

"whatever you KNOW you shouldn't eat today; don't eat it."

I do that. I would wager I probably eat more healthily than most thin people out there.

"That's all it takes -- self control; no excuses."

Again: I'm under orders never to exercise that level of self-control again, because last time I did that, I nearly killed myself, and I definitely destroyed my thyroid gland. Oops!

"I see no reason it won't work for you. "

See, this is where YOU are weak: you're too chicken to admit you don't know everything there's to know. You're too scared to admit that life isn't all clear and cut. I'm not the weak one here; you are.

"But as I said; first, stop whining. It's weak. Weakness is what keeps you from changing your habits."

I kicked my abusive mother out of my life without whining to anybody about it. I quit the brain-washing church I had been raised in without whining about it. And so on. The few people who know about these and other massive life changes I made, keep asking me how I have the courage to do half the things I did, but for me, it's not courage: it's just doing what I have to do. So telling ME that I'm weak... Yeah, I'd say that YOU are the one projecting, here ;)

Today Show's Jenna's a really flighty ditz who doesn't have any idea what's coming out of her mouth at all. I wouldn't even worry about her. I mean, really, if anyone takes anything she says seriously, they really need to re-think that decision. She's just an overpaid wino-whino, that's all.